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Free Speech/Hate Speech

There has been a great deal of debate on free speech as of late. Our constitutional rights clearly state that speech should be completely free and uninhibited. However, there are some that believe certain speech should be illegal. This speech is referred to as, hate speech. What is hate speech you may ask? Well, that’s a very good question.

Most think hate speech consists of negative, or derogatory words towards another person. But that is not wholly correct. Hate speech is now defined as any and all offensive speech. But is this really important? Does it really matter if you speak negatively toward someone, or hurt their feelings?

Under our constitution, it doesn’t matter if your speech is offensive. But for people who believe in hate speech, if you say something offensive, there should be consequences. People who believe in hate speech laws feel that a fine, or even jail time, is necessary to curb hate speech use.

Now you might be thinking about the laws we already have against speech. For instance, you can’t shout fire in a crowded theater, or bomb in an airport. But that is not hate speech. Using those words, in that context, is a call to action. Meaning you could incite a stampede, which could cause harm to the populace. So what is hate speech? And is it really harmful enough to be policed?

The left has stated that calling someone by the wrong pronoun is an act of violence. Showing support for your President, or for any of his policies, is considered hateful. Having any conservative view seems to be the defining factor for hate speech. But is it a call to action? Will any of these ideas, if vocalized, really incite violence?

Now you could say, that because the left finds these ideas so “triggering”, the speech does in fact incite violence. But is that a case for our speech to be policed? Or is it a case for people to stop acting like children?

Inciting riots due to someone’s opposing thoughts, could be viewed as the individual’s inability to act like an adult. It seems as though hate speech is just an excuse for liberals to throw temper tantrums.

Imposing hate speech laws will strip us of our constitutional right for uninhibited, completely free, speech. It shouldn’t matter if you don’t agree with what a person says. It shouldn’t matter if what the person says hurts your feelings, or if they were intentionally trying to be hateful. Speech should remain free.